Control valve



Nov. 12, 1968 R. E. SELF 3,410,524

CONTROL VALVE Filed Aug. 1, 1966 INVENTOR.

F/ HA f SELF 3,410,524 Patented Nov. 12, 1968 3,410,524 CONTROL VALVERichard E. Self, 3221 Brimhall Drive, Los Alamitos, Calif. 90720Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 324,646,

Nov. 19, 1963. This application Aug. 1, 1966, Ser.

6 Claims. (Cl. 251--332) This application is a continuation-in-part ofmy copending application Ser. No. 324,646, filed Nov. 19, 1963, nowPatent No. 3,290,002.

This invention relates to a soft seal valve with completely encapsulatedseat material protected against erosion in all flow positions of thevalve but flowable beyond the capsule to provide an extremely tightseal. Particularly this invention relates to a throttling valve having aspindle sealed by a retractible easily replaced packing which iscompressed upon the seating of the spindle to develop a bubble tightseal.

This invention will be specifically described as embodied in a globetype throttling valve which is especially adapted for the handling ofhigh pressure liquids or gases, but it should be understood that theprinciples of this invention are not limited to any particular valveconfiguration or end usage. Thus, the packing and encapsulated soft seatfeatures of this invention are generally useful in a wide range of valvedesigns, and the scope of this invention is therefore not to be limitedto the preferred illustrated embodiment.

In the preferred illustrated embodiment of the invention, a valve bodyis provided with a valve operating chamber between inlet and outletports. One of these ports has an annular recess formed at the insidewall thereof, and a sleeve is positioned concentrically in the passagefor overlying the recess. The recess is filled with a relatively rigidyet compressible seat material. Polytetroflnoroethylene (Teflon) is aneffective soft seat material for the valves of this invention, but otherplastics and even metals might be used. The preferred materials have alow coeflicient of friction, are compressible, and have a reboundcapacity. The seat material filling the recess is completelyencapsulated by the wall forming the port and by the sleeve which isdisposed concentrically within the port.

The recess has a shoulder which extends inwardly of the port opening,and the sleeve has an outwardly projecting lip which engages the seatmaterial. When the spindle is moved into engagement with the sleeve, theseat material is compressed by the movement of the outwardly projectinglip toward the inwardly extending radial shoulder, thereby allowing thespindle to move into a seated relationship with the compressible seatmaterial.

Thus, the compressed seat material forms an extremely efficient bubbletight seal. The encapsulating sleeve for the soft seat material protectsthe material against erosion, washout, nibbling or surge from the fluidbeing handled, and when the seat material is fully compressed there isno flow through the valve. The encapsulating sleeve is rotatably mountedwithin the port and has no gallin'g effect on the seat material.

It is then an object of this invention to provide a soft seat fluid flowvalve with a capsule which fully protects the soft seat material underall operating conditions of the valve.

Another object of this invention is to provide an encapsulated soft seatvalve with a fully opened position, a throttling position, a range ofmetering positions, and a completely closed position where the soft seatmaterial is always fully protected against any effects of erosion,washout, or the like wear caused by the fluid being handled.

A further object of this invention is to provide a port for a spindlevalve which has an encapsulated soft seat where the soft seat materialis fully protected against the effects of the fluids such as highpressure gases handled by the valve.

Other objects and features of this invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in this art from the following detailed description of theannexed sheets of drawings which, by way of a preferred example only,illustrate one embodiment of the invention.

On the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a spindle valve of thisinvention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary somewhat diagrammatic illustration of thevalve in a fully opened position and illustrating the manner in whichthe soft seat on the spindle is fully encapsulated.

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but illustrating the fully closedposition of the valve.

As shown on the drawings:

The valve assembly 10 includes a valve body or housing 11, a spindle 12,a spindle mounting barrel 13 threaded into the housing, a packing nut 14threaded into the barrel 13, a jam nut 15 threaded on a packing nut 14and bottomed against the barrel 13 to lock the packing nut and barrelagainst relative rotation, a panel nut 16 threaded on the barreladjacent the housing or body 11 for securing the assembly on a panel orthe like, and a handle 17 secured on the top of the spindle 12 by anacorn nut 18 threaded on the free end of the spindle.

The valve housing or body 11 has an internally threaded inlet 19 in oneend face and a similar internally threaded outlet 20 in the opposite endface. As shown in FIGURE 1, the body 11 has an operating chamber 21between the inlet 19 and the outlet 20 and opening through the top ofthe body. The barrel 13 is threaded into this opening and is bottomed ona seat or shoulder 22 of the housing. A cylindrical port 23 surroundedby a flat annular face 24 is provided at the bottom of the operatingchamber 21, and a passageway 25 connects the port 23 with the inlet. 19.One side of the operating chamber 21 is connected by a passageway 26 tothe outlet opening 20. It will of course be understood that flowconditions could be reversed with the port 23 becoming an outlet port.

The spindle has a straight cylindrical portion 27 freely slidable in thebarrel 13 and an externally threaded portion 28 threaded in the packingnut 14. The barrel 13 has a radial shoulder 29 under the packing nut 14forming a packing seat. The nut 14 in turn has cylindrical end face 30confronting the seat 29.

An effective packing is provided for the spindle portion 27 to preventleakage along the spindle through the barrel. To this end, the packingnut 14 immediately adjacent the end face 30 has a reduced diametercylindrical side wall 31 receiving thereon a metal retaining ring 32with an inturned bottom lip 33. A packing ring 34 of de formablematerial such as nylon, Teflon, or the like plastic or even a softdeformable metal, is fitted in the retaining ring to rest on the lip 33thereof. The ring 32 has an internal diameter providing a slip fit onthe cylindrical side wall 31, and the ring can be deformed out of roundto effect an interference fit to fixedly secure it to the wall 31.

The barrel 13 has a plain cylindrical side wall 35 immediately adjacentthe seat 29 and under the threaded portion 36 which receives thethreaded packing nut 14, which wall 35 is of sufficiently large diameterto freely receive the retaining ring 32.

The packing ring 34 fits snugly in the retaining ring 32 and has aninternal diameter snugly receiving the portion 27 of the spindle 12.

To set the packing assembly in proper sealing relation ship between thebarrel 13 and the spindle portion 27 it is only necessary to insert thespindle into the barrel, place the packing ring 34 into the retainingring, assemble the retaining ring on the wall 31 of the packing nut 14,thread the packing nut around the spindle and into the barrel andtighten the packing nut sufiiciently in the barrel so that the packingring 34 will be loaded between the seat 29 and the end face 30.

Since the packing ring 34 is slightly deformable it will accommodateitself to a tight fit between the opposed sealing faces 29 and of thebarrel and nut and around the spindle portion 27. To remove the packingfor replacement it is only necessary to unthread the packing nut fromthe barrel whereupon the packing assembly will be retracted with thepacking nut as illustrated in FIGURE 4.

In accordance with this invention, the port 23 which is formed betweenthe inlet 19 and the outlet 20 has an annular recess 36 which is spacedaxially from the surface 24. The recess 36 is continuous around the port23 and provides the means for holding a seal ring having the valveseating features of this invention.

The port 23 has a first wall portion 37 formed adjacent to the surface24 and has an inwardly stepped wall portion 38 formed at the oppositeside of the recess 36. Due to the stepped relationship of the walls 37and 38, the recess 36 has radial shoulders 39 and 40 which havedifferent effective areas, namely the radial shoulder 40 has a largersurface area than the radial shoulder 39.

In accordance with this invention a Teflon seal 41 fills the recess 36and is confined between the shoulders 39 and 40. The Teflon filling isin the form of a cylindrical sleeve having an outer diameter which issubstantially the same as the diameter of the recess 36.

This sleeve or filling 41 constitutes the soft valve seat of thisinvention.

In accordance with this invention the soft seat 41 is encapsulated by a,metal sleeve 42 which is slidably mounted concentrically within thepassage 23. The sleeve 42 has an outwardly projecting lip 43 whichengages the seal ring 41 as at the point 44. This engagement of the lip43 with the seal ring 41 restricts the axial movement of the sleeve 42in a direction away from the surface 24.

Since the sleeve 42 is intended to slide Within the passage 23, a 10stmotion connection 45 is provided between the Wall 38 and the outersurface of the sleeve 42. The lost motion connection consists of anannular groove 46 which is formed in the wall 38 and a recess 47 whichis formed within the outer surface of the sleeve 42. A snap ring 48 orthe like may be fitted within the groove 46 so as to confine the axialmovement of the sleeve 42 to the limits 49 and 50 established by therecess 47.

The sleeve 42 has a bore 51 which is provided for receiving a leadingend nose 52. The end nose 52 has a relatively flat pointed leading edge53 followed by a tapered side wall 54 which diverges to a cylindricalside wall or head 55. The end nose 52 fits freely within the sleeve port51, and the cylindrical side wall 55 fits in relatively closedrelationship with the wall 37 associated with the port 23.

The sealing function of the valve structure of this invention can bestbe understood from a consideration of FIGURES 2 and 3 jointly. When thehead 55 is in an opened position as shown in FIGURE 2, the sleeve 42 isin a relaxed position with the seal ring 41. In this position highpressure gas or the like may flow through the port 23 and pass to theoutlet 20. During this time, however, the seal ring 41 is protected fromerosion due to the presence of the gas by the particular structure ofthe sleeve 42. Essentially, the sleeve 42 has axially extending surfaces56 and 57 which are confronting to the'surfaces 37 and 38 respectivelyof the port 23. Due to the close contact of the surface 56 at thesurface 37 and of the surface 57 at the surface 38, the ring 41 isconstantly protected from the movement of gas which may tend to bedestructive of the seal ring 41.

As the leading end nose 52 of the spindle is moved to the port 23, thefiow of fluids or gases through the port 23 is progressively reduced asdescribed in my co-pending patent application Ser. No. 324,646. When,however, the valve head 55 contacts the sleeve 42, the seal ring 41begins to be compressed with the result that a bubble tight seal iseffected.

For this purpose, the sleeve 42.has an end face 58, andv the valve head55 has a shoulder 59. As the. nose 52 transaltes into the sleeve bore51, the shoulder 59 moves into engagement with the end face 58.

As the valve head 55 continues to move into the port 23 after contactingthe end face 58 with the shoulder 59, the outwardly projecting lip 43 ofthe sleeve 42 begins to compress the seal ring 41 against the radialshoulder 40. This compression of the seal ring 41 causes a'tight seal tobe formed against the lip 43and the adjacent outer cylindrical surfaceof the sleeve 42. Also, as the head 55 begins to move into a confrontingposition with the surface 37 of the port 23, a seal is effected aboutthe cylindrical surface 55.

The seal about the cylindrical surface or head 55 is made possible dueto the movement of the shoulder 59 below the radial shoulder 39 of therecess 36. The compression of the ring 41 then exerts a sealing forceagainst the cylindrical surface 55 as at 59. To accomplish a tight seal,the cylindrical surface 55 is constructed to have a diametersubstantially equal to the diameter of the outwardly projecting lip 43.Therefore, the movement of the lip into the seal ring 41 allows the heador cylindrical wall 55 to follow into its sealing position.

The valve of this invention is constructed to continuously encapsulatethe valve seat and thereby protect the sealing material forming the seatfrom the erosive effects of the fluid moving through the valve. As seenin FIG- URE 3, the encapsulating efifect is maintained during the closedvalve position as well as during the open position as shown in FIGURE 2.All steps in between fully opened and fully closed positions alsoprovide that the seal ring will be completely encapsulated. Thisencapsulation is provided first, by the confronting walls 56 and 57 ofthe sleeve 42, and second, by the close relationship of the end face 58of the sleeve 42 to the shoulder 59 of the head 55.

From the above description it will therefore be understood that thisinvention provides an improved soft seat flow control valve wherein thesealing material is completely encapsulated against erosion or wear fromfluid flow. It will also be understood that various modifications andcombinations of the features of this invention may be accomplished bythose skilled in the art, but I desire to claim all such modificationsand combinations as properly come within the scope and spirit of mycontribution to the art.

I claim:

1. A sealing joint having a surface intersected by a passage,

said passage having a continuous annular recess formed therein andspaced axially inwardly of said surface,

a ring-shaped volume of highly viscous, flowable, compressible materialfilling all of said recess and in sufficient excess to project outwardlyof the recess and radially inwardly of said passage,

said recess having axially spaced radial shoulder means overlying saidring shaped volume,

one of said shoulder means having an effective area greater than thecorrespondingly oppositely disposed radial shoulder,

a sleeve positioned concentrically in said passage and.

having an outwardly projecting lip thereof for abutting said ring shapedvolume,

said outwardly projecting lip and said passage having confrontingaxially extending concentric surfaces sized to have a sliding fit withone another, 1 whereby said ring-shaped volume is protected againsterosion by any fluids flowing through said passage, said lip therebyrestricting the movement of said sleeve in an axial direction away fromsaid surface, said sleeve having an end face adjacent to said lip andfacing outwardly of said passage,

a spindle member having a head portion and being movable axially intoand out of said passage,

said head portion having a shoulder forming a piston head movable intosaid passage and being of a diameter substantially equal to the diameterof said lip,

said piston head engaging said end face of said sleeve after being movedinto said passage and progressively forcibly causing said lip tocompress said ring-shaped volume within said recess,

said piston head being movable into said passage after said shoulderengages said end face to compress said ring shaped volume,

thereby separating said axially extending confronting surfaces whiletranslating said spindle member into said passage,

the compression of ring-shaped volume building up contact pressurebetween said outwardly projecting lip and a radial shoulder means ofsaid recess and allowing said piston head to be moved to aconcentrically confronting position with said ring-shaped volume.

2. A sealing joint having a surface intersected by a passage,

said passage having a continuous annular recess formed therein andspaced axially inwardly of said surface,

a ring-shaped volume of highly viscous, fiowable, compressible materialfilling all of said recess and in sufficient excess to project outwardlyof the recess and radially inwardly of said passage,

a sleeve positioned concentrically in said passage and having anoutwardly projecting lip thereof for abutting said ring-shaped volume,

said lip there-by restricting the movement of said sleeve in an axialdirection away from said surface,

said sleeve having an end face adjacent to said lip and facing outwardlyof said passage,

a spindle member having a head portion and being movable axially intoand out of said passage,

said head portion having a shoulder forming a piston head movable intosaid passage and being of a diameter substantially equal to the diameterof said lip,

said piston head engaging said end face of said sleeve after being movedinto said passage and progressively forcibly causing said lip tocompress said ring-shaped volume within said recess,

said piston head being movable into said passage after said shoulderengages said end face to compress said ring-shaped volume.

3. A sealing joint as defined in claim 1 wherein said material comprisesTeflon.

4. A sealing joint as defined in claim 1 and further characterized bysaid spindle member being rotatable,

and screw threaded actuator means for axially moving said spindle memberinto and out of said passage upon rotation of said actuator means.

5. A sealing joint as defined in claim 4 and further characterized bysaid sleeve and said passage having a coupling connection affordinglimited relative axial movement and free relative rotational movement,

whereby rotational adjustment on said actuator means to control thecontact pressure between said end face and said surface will regulatefine and ultrafine metering through the passage.

6. A sealing joint as defined in claim 1 wherein said passage has aninwardly radially stepped portion forming one of the radial shouldermeans associated with said recess and wherein said sleeve has aconfronting axially extending concentric surface sized to have a slidingfit with said stepped portion of said passage.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,060,748 11/1936 Roberts et al.251332 2,348,548 5/1944 Koehler 25 13 64 2,985,424 5/1961 Anderson et al251332 3,084,903 4/1963 Parks 25 1-210 X 3,145,010 8/1964 Karr 251-2103,327,991 6/ 1967 Wallace 251-332 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,287,110 l/1962France.

835,448 3/ 19521 Germany.

M. CARY NELSON, Primary Examiner.

R. C. MILLER, Assistant Examiner.

2. A SEALING JOINT HAVING A SURFACE INTERSECTED BY A PASSAGE, SAIDPASSAGE HAVING A CONTINUOUS ANNULAR RECESS FORMED THEREIN AND SPACEDAXIALLY INWARDLY OF SAID SURFACE, A RING-SHAPED VOLUME OF HIGHLYVISCOUS, FLOWABLE, COMPRESSIBLE MATERIAL FILLING ALL OF SAID RECESS ANDIN SUFFICIENT EXCESS TO PROJECT OUTWARDLY TO THE RECESS AND RADIALLYINWARDLY OF SAID PASSAGE, A SLEEVE POSITIONED CONCENTRICALLY IN SAIDPASSAGE AND HAVING AN OUTWARDLY PROJECTING LIP THEREOF FOR ABUTTING SAIDRING-SHAPED VOLUME, SAID LIP THEREBY RESTRICTING THE MOVEMENT OF SAIDSLEEVE IN AN AXIAL DIRECTION AWAY FROM SAID SURFACE, SAID SLEEVE HAVINGAN END FACE ADJACENT TO SAID LIP AND FACING DOWNWARDLY OF SAID PASSAGE,A SPINDLE MEMBER HAVING AN HEAD PORTION AND BEING MOVABLE AXIALLY INTOAND OUT OF SAID PASSAGE, SAID HEAD PORTION HAVING A SHOULDER FORMING APISTON HEAD MOVABLE INTO SAID PASSAGE AND BEING OF A DIAMETERSUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE DIAMETER OF SAID LIP, SAID PISTON HEADENGAGING SAID END FACE OF SAID SLEEVE AFTER BEING MOVED INTO SAIDPASSAGE AND PROGRESSIVELY FORCIBLY CAUSING SAID LIP TO COMPRESS SAIDRING-SHAPED VOLUME WITHIN SAID RECESS, SAID PISTON HEAD BEING MOVABLEINTO SAID PASSAGE AFTER SAID SHOULDER ENGAGES SAID END FACE TO COMPRESSSAID RING-SHAPED VOLUME.